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Who's Who - Dmitry Shuvaev

Dmitry Savelich Shuvaev (1854-1937)
served as Russia's Minister of War from March 1916 to January 1917 during
World War One.

A serving member of the
Russian army, Shuvaev's background was primarily in staff positions with an
emphasis on logistics. He therefore proved well-suited to his
appointment in 1909 as the army's Quartermaster General, serving in this
capacity until the close of 1915, when he was transferred to the battlefield
in the same capacity.

Aside from its notoriously
inefficient system of communications
Tsar Nicholas II's army suffered a corollary in its
management of supplies: armies in the field were often without key supplies
such as food and armaments, despite the fact that such items were often
available awaiting shipment.

March 1916 brought Shuvaev
promotion as Minister of War, replacing
Polivanov, ostensibly to address the
above difficulties. Shuvaev was handicapped from the start however.
His proven logistical expertise was rendered nought when set against the
baleful influence of the
Tsarina Alexandra, who took against the new
Minister from the very first.

Without political influence
therefore - and the Tsarina ensured he lacked this crucial aspect of his new
role - his impact on the supply problem was negligible. His
willingness to work with the Duma (for a change) found adamant opposition at
the royal court. His eventual dismissal in January 1917 was therefore
predictable.

One of relatively few
senior officers to escape imprisonment, exile or execution at the hands of
the Bolsheviks, Shuvaev subsequently played a role in the education of the newly-formed
Red Army.

He died in 1937.

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